


Cheep Beer and Ciggie Cheeks

by Meikakuna



Category: Original Work
Genre: As in the 'c' word gets used once and the 'f' word gets used a lot, Bar, Biphobia, Co-workers, Drama, Drunk Kissing, Internalized Homophobia, Interracial Relationship, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Middle Aged Men, Office, Opposites Attract, Overweight, Romance, Swearing, Yaoi, they're not sailors but they're Australian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 10:31:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8976121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meikakuna/pseuds/Meikakuna
Summary: Terrence loves to stare at his coworker Kei during his lunch break. When Kei invites him to the bar with some other coworkers, pasts get revealed and a drunk romance blossoms.
This story is very Australian, so if there are any questions about the slang or the cultural references, feel free to send me a message.





	

This story is very Australian, so if there are any questions about the slang or the cultural references, feel free to send me a message.

The beep of the machine woke Terrence up, even though he was already standing. He slowly took the two-minute lasagna out of the microwave. It was a bit big, but he was always a big eater.

He looked at the small but unmoving line in front of the coffee machine and sighed. His throat was parched but he said nothing. His digital watch said ‘1:24’. No time.

He sat at an empty table and began ingesting the cheap cheese and sauce. Each bite reminded him of a better meal from home.

He finished early, so he spent the rest of the time looking around the room.

May was still a looker after all these years. Her pencil skirt accentuated her curves. He thought she was wearing a little bit of makeup but he couldn’t really tell.

She was talking to Kei, who appeared to be chatting her up. Terrence heard something about Kei’s home country but couldn’t decipher words heard so far away, hidden under the grumble of the old coffee machine.

Kei had a misshapen mouth that moved to the side when he talked. When he laughed (this happened with alarming frequency), the nostrils of his oversized nose would jump up and down. When he smiled his dimples showed and a few lines could be seen past the outer corners of his eyes. He used big gestures when he tried to explain something, whether it be an idea in the meeting room or the size of the fish he caught last Sunday. Terrence couldn’t help but watch.

May giggled like a schoolgirl. Terrence frowned. Of course.

He looked back at Kei. The man was explaining something again. He bent his bony knees and held his hand about half a metre off the ground. That young? How old was this man, exactly?

May inched away but still listened. Terrence silently prayed for her to go away. He then chastised himself. If she left, Kei would have no one to talk to and laugh with. 

He considered replacing her and having a friendly conversation with the man. He loudly scoffed at the idea. A couple of people turned their heads so he beat a fake cough out of his chest.

He looked at his watch and stifled a groan. He hauled himself out of the chair and lumbered towards the door of the lounge, ears alert for any more conversations from Kei.

Before he could make it to the door, he felt a hand grip his shoulder. He turned around, his shoulders rising in preparation for him to fight like prey in a forest. They suddenly returned to their normal height when he saw a pair of dimples.

“Hey, did you get the fax I sent you this morning?” Kei’s voice was smooth, making the twang of his broad accent more palatable. If Terrence didn’t know better he could have sworn Kei was raised in the outback. Was it an act? He always talked like this.

Terrence nodded. Kei patted him lightly on the back. This soft touch felt excruciating to Terrence. He gulped, feeling his heart tighten as if squeezed by an iron hand. He was getting too old for this shit.

“Say, after work some of the fellas and I are gonna head down to the pub. You wanna join us?” Terrence took a moment to think. He eventually smiled. Kei leant in a bit closer. An agonising bit.

“Hey, you’ve got a pretty nice smile.” Kei patted his back again and pointed at him like a used car salesman. “You should wear it more often.” He headed out the door and swiftly turned around. “I’ll see you after work!”

A loud, deep voice bounced off the walls of the room. “Time to get back to work, everyone!”

Terrence brushed past his boss, eager to get to his own little enclosed space. He sat down in front of his computer and allowed Kei’s words to sink in.

What the hell did he just say? What kind of guy compliments another guy’s smile like that? In front of other people, no less?

Terrence felt his chest become tight again. He took a deep breath and opened up an Excel spreadsheet. He blocked out all sounds of fax machines and printers and ticking clocks and whispers about days off.

Terrence got his daily work done with five minutes to spare, so he turned his phone back on and saw a message.

_Mum: I met this nice lady on the shopping tour and I think she’d be perfect for you. Would you like_ _to meet her after work today?_

Terrence chuckled. Like it was even a contest.

_I’m busy. Sorry._

He closed his eyes in exasperation. Shopping tour? His mother must have been getting desperate.

His eyes popped open when he felt a buzzing sensation in his hand. He waited for it to pass. He was about to look at the message when he heard a knock on one of his cubicle walls.

He looked up and saw Kei resting an arm on the top edge of the wall with a slumped back. “You ready to go?” Terrence blinked away distracting thoughts as he stared at Kei. He kept his eyes firmly on his.

He nodded. Kei pointed his thumb backwards and turned around, his suit jacket floating up and down as he moved. Even his rotations were big.

Terrence grunted loudly and slowly as he pushed himself off his chair. Kei turned his head. “You okay?”

Terrence’s heart, tighter than ever, decided that it would be a good idea to try and beat at a million kilometres per hour. The result was a rough throb as his heart tried to escape his ribcage. Had he still had colour in his cheeks, they would have been as red as the flame at the end of a ciggie.

He followed Kei, not letting his eyes move any more upwards than they needed to. So long as he didn’t bump into something in front of Kei, he would be fine not looking into those dark quicksand eyes.

Outside the grey walls were more grey walls that surrounded Terrence like prison bars. His inmates were looking at their watches.

“Are we going yet?” A man with black skin and perfectly combed hair asked in a gravelly voice. “Who’s going help everyone get home? We need one sober person to watch over us and make sure we don’t drive home or get kicked out of the bar. How about… you? What’s your name?”

The man pointed to Terrence, who grit his teeth. “Terre-”

Kei stood behind him and grabbed him by the shoulders, giving them a light shake like a coach encouraging a failing athlete.

“Terry’s gotta drink. He needs a good break. It’s your idea; you stay sober.”

A pale, heavily wrinkled man chuckled. He spoke in a loud, boganish voice. “It’s probably best if the Abo stays away from alcohol.”

The black man scowled at the wrinkled man, but his eyes were warm with mischief. “Shut up, you racist old cunt!

"Laughter from both men jumped into the air. It scraped through Terrence’s ears, distracting him from the nickname Kei gave him earlier.

Kei joined in. "I remember learning that word from an American and it was super offensive, so when I first heard it in Australia I almost punched the bloke! You Aussies!”

A younger man with a shiny face and glasses on his nose put a book on Keynesian economics in his briefcase.

“Mate, you’re a bigger Aussie than half the blokes born here!”

Kei shrugged. “When you’ve lived in one place for twenty odd years, you tend to pick a few things up.”

A tall, bulky man with tan skin, tiny eyes and a baritone voice crossed his arms. “Can we hurry up and get drinks?”

Kei’s eyes grew. “Oh. Terry, this upstanding blackfella’s Bob.” He pointed to the older man. “This is Gary.” He took Terrence’s hand and the younger man’s hand and held them together in a handshake. “I think you and Dave’ll get along.” The tall man released a harsh grunt. “Oh, and this is Pete. Okay, let’s follow Bob.” Pete grinned as if he was a prisoner being told he could finally have some leisure time. 

The group’s footsteps against the pavement were out of sync with each other. Terrence made quiet, sluggish steps behind everyone else. Bob led the pack as promised with Kei not far behind. Kei was talking about his kid again and Bob, judging by his silence and decision to stay a step in front of him, seemed to be ignoring him. Following them was Gary, who was walking side-by-side with Dave and lightheartedly arguing with him over something political. If one was to not include Terrence, an easy mistake to make, they would say Pete was the one at the back guarding everyone from a king hit. The reality was that Terrence was in the middle of the danger.

Luckily no drunk tried to punch anyone, but Terrence’s shoulders were tense enough to start aching. His eyes were wide and constantly moving, scanning the street for any threats. He held his breath when the group turned a corner. He gulped that air down when he saw nobody with a fist or a knife.

He knew he was being stupid. He wasn’t some twenty-one-year-old woman out on the streets late at night by herself. What was he afraid of? The Apex gang wasn’t around here and besides, they weren’t muggers. As far as he knew.

He shook his head. Nothing bad was going to happen tonight. Nothing. Definitely.

The cacophony of footsteps continued for a good ten minutes as the group turned corners and crossed streets without paying attention to the red man in the traffic light.

Occasionally a brown leaf would crunch underneath the weight of someone’s foot. Other times the wind would tousle everyone’s hair but Bob’s. The regular slap of coldness sent shivers through Terrence’s body.

Finally, the pilgrimage ended. An acoustic guitar and a buttery voice massaged Terrence’s ears. Warm light sent a beacon through the windows. When Bob opened the creaky wooden door, chatter leapt towards the group, welcoming them in. Strong beer wafted through their noses. Terrence remembered sitting in this same bar over thirty years ago. The memory of his father handing him a drink was submerged deep in his brain.

As they stepped into the building, they saw televisions displaying one of two things: horse races and running men passing a red oval ball to each other. One television had a man kicking the ball and getting a point instead of a goal, angering half the people in the bar

“Oh, come on! Step up your game!” Gary shouted, raising and bending his arm with his palm facing the ceiling. It was if he was trying to figure out how the failure could have possibly happened.

Kei immediately walked up to the bar and ordered a VB. Gary followed him with an order for a Foster’s Lager.

“Mate, you must be the only one keeping Foster’s in business!” Dave exclaimed.

Gary scoffed. “Well, it tastes better than that peasant’s beer VB.”

Dave ordered a margarita. Gary burst out laughing. “You some sort of faggot? What right do you have to question my taste in drinks?”

“I… I just like the taste, okay?”

Pete got himself a Crown and no one told this big man that his choice was wrong. Kei looked at Terrence. “What are you getting?” Everyone turned to face him, their grins telling him they were ready to judge his taste before he finished the order.

Terrence didn’t drink a lot. He never drank alone and it was rare for him to go to a bar with friends, as that required friends in the first place.

He considered getting a VB just like Kei, but the thought of being suspected of anything made alarms sound in his head. There was no way in hell he was getting a cocktail. Foster’s never tasted that great to him. Only one option was safe.

“I’ll get a Crown.”

Gary considered insulting him for the hell of it until he remembered the drink in Pete’s beefy hand.

Bob ordered a bowl of wedges for everyone. “Do I have to pay for everyone’s food? We should have gotten a tab. We really should have thought this through.”

“Oh shut it, you prig,” Gary said.

Bob gave him a lecture on personal responsibility in the face of dwindling sobriety. As the two argued, Kei sat down at a table. Well, it was technically a barrel, but it achieved the same purpose.

A novelty song blasted through Kei’s pocket. He took out his phone and read a message. He frowned, but his eyes were vibrant with excitement.

Dave sat next to him and leant towards him. “Who was that?”

“Jane. A reminder to pick up Lisa from her place tomorrow.”

Terrence sat next to Kei as well, despite knowing that this would be a big mistake. The high chair creaked a little under his weight.

He took a sip of his beer. The amber liquid slid down his throat easily, freezing his throat a little. Not too bad.

Pete sat opposite to Kei, sculling his beer down and slamming it onto the barrel. He smirked, staring at Terrence for some reason.

Kei took a swig of his drink. Terrence rubbed his thumb against the neck of the bottle in his hand. He stared at the shiny surface. He looked back at Kei. He looked at Dave, who had already drunk half of his margarita.

Terrence chugged down the rest of his bottle. The rush of the cold temperature and the subtly bitter taste joined in unholy matrimony to burn his throat.

He dropped the bottle on the barrel. It rolled to the top steel hoop. He coughed, ramming his fist into his chest repeatedly. Kei asked him something, but the blankie of shame covered his ears.

Pete’s deep laugh seemed to shake the barrel. Terrence hung his head.

He suddenly raised his head when he felt a hand pat his back. He gulped, keeping his eyes on the empty bottle. He could feel eyes on him from next to him. They were too soft to burn into him, but they did manage to make his legs feel like they were going to melt down the chair.

Bob and Gary finally settled their differences and squeezed into the leftover spaces next to Pete.

“So, what’d we miss?” Bob asked, his words tough to hear through the potato wedge in his mouth. Silence followed, pushing Terrence’s head back down.

Kei eventually cooked up an answer. “My ex-wife. Bob, you’re married, aren’t you? How do you two keep your relationship together?”

Bob grunted instead of laughing. “I think the question that’s more important is how you and your wife couldn’t keep it together.”

Kei looked down at the barrel and began flicking Terrence’s bottle again and again as it rolled back and forth.

“I… I’d rather not talk about it.”

Bob shrugged. “Then I can’t help you.”

Dave shifted his gaze between everyone at the table. “Uh, so… Terry, I don’t know a lot about you. Uh… which team do you barrack for?”

Terrence’s shoulders became rocks again. “Collingwood.”

Gary’s eyes glared at him but his lips were in a smile. “Seriously? Why the hell would you go for Collingwood?”

“My mum’s been a big supporter for decades.”

“Did she punch half your teeth out too?” Terrence’s shoulders slumped. “What? You getting the Collywobbles?”

“I just…. I don’t really ‘follow’ Collingwood like you probably do for your team. I don’t watch much sport. I’m not really a huge follower of anything, really. Or anyone. I’m not into sports or TV shows or bands or anything like that. I just kind of… exist.”

Gary fell silent, raising an eyebrow and staring at the pathetic man who dared to sit at his table.

No one else spoke for a while. Pete scratched his own cheek and looked around for anything to interest him. Dave smiled with a twitching mouth as if trying to think of something to say. Bob tapped his fingers against the barrel.

Terrence sharply inhaled when he heard wood scrape against the floorboards. He whipped his head around and saw Kei standing.

“I’m gonna get another drink. Anyone else?”

Gary, Pete and Dave ordered the same drink. Bob got a coke. Gary laughed at him for it, asking if one drink was all it took to get him drink, and Bob responded by saying that he made a promise to be sober and he was going to follow that to the letter.

Terrence remembered something his father ordered a few years ago. He remembered him falling off the bar laughing. He also remembered him flirting with women in front of his wife.

“Do you still have the Grand Ridge Supershine?”

The bartender nodded and handed it to him with a concerned expression. Gary asked Terrence what beer he got.

Terrence took a huge gulp. He immediately felt his brain slow down a little. “Only the strongest beer in Australia. They don’t sell it in many places, probably ‘cause of the tax.”

“Good luck finishing that,” Pete said with a laugh that was much smaller than before.

Everyone sat back at the table. Kei began gushing over his daughter. Dave listened politely but Gary and Pete started their own separate conversation about the footy. Bob constantly shifted his attention between both conversations. Terrence listened to every word that dripped out of Kei’s mouth like the sweetest liqueur.

As he took regular sips of the Supershine, Terrence started to feel the buzz everyone talked about when it came to alcohol. He smiled. Perhaps tonight would not be too bad.

Eventually the topic changed from Lisa to a range of subjects. Dave made a joke about Gary’s fixation on the footy-showing television. Terrence laughed loudly despite himself. He stopped when he saw Kei’s nostrils jump, gazing at the man in silence and taking in those dimples. Dave stared at Terrence, then Kei, then back at Terrence. He moved his mouth to the side and thought.

“Oh, come on! That was bullshit!” Everyone at the table looked at Gary with amused smiles. He continued ranting at the screen as a Collingwood player kicked a goal.

Kei had a few gulps of his VB. “Wish I could yell like that at Ian.” He laughed at his own comment.

Dave nodded and sipped his margarita. “Yesterday he made me go through all those files. That usually takes half a day and you know how much time he gave me? Half an hour. Then the bloke has the gall to chew my head off because I couldn’t get it done.”

Kei held his bottle up with his index finger pointed at Dave. “That’s nothing. Yesterday he wanted me to do all this complex stuff I couldn’t understand and he barely gave me any direction. Said I should have learnt this where I came from. What the hell’s his problem?”

Dave’ eyes widened so much it looked like his glasses were magnifying glasses. “You serious? Mate, you should see HR about that. That’s not okay.”

“I wouldn’t bother. It’s really not that big a deal. It’s just frustrating, is all. He hasn’t said anything like that in a while. Ugh, that reminds me of when I told him I was going to be late but I made it just in time. You know what he said?” Terrence made the mistake of looking at his eyes. They contained the energy of a solar wind. Kei’s eyebrows were furrowed and his face looked a little red. Terrence had never seen him like this before.

“I heard it,” Bob said. He put on a lower voice. “Geez, that was quick. You crash any cars on your way here? Man, you lot are reckless with cars.” Kei groaned at the memory. Bob returned to his normal voice. “I already told HR about it and he said he’d tell Ian to think about his language. That was three months ago, wasn’t it?”

Kei nodded. He stood up and ordered another beer. “But we’re not here to talk about work. So, what’s everyone going to do tomorrow?”

“I’m working an extra day tomorrow,” Terrence said quietly. He suspected no one would hear him under Gary’s roaring shouts. Kei’s arm around his shoulders said otherwise.

Kei used his arm to rock Terrence from side to side. “Oh, come on. When have you ever had a Saturday off?”

“It’s only for half a day. I’ll be fine.”

Kei sighed. “Dave?”

“A date with my new girlfriend.”

Kei smirked, his eyes full of an emotion Terrence was all too familiar with. “She a looker? Got any pictures of her?”

Dave took out his phone. He clicked on an app and went to the messages portion of the app. A woman with a thin body and long, wavy blonde hair appeared on the screen.

Gary asked to have a look. Dave gave him the phone. “Pig’s arse you got a date with her. It’s gotta be photoshopped.”

“I’m meeting her in a public place so if she’s nothing like the photo I can leave. I’m not a moron.”

“What program is this?”

“It’s an app called OKCupid.”

“Can I get it on my Samsung?”

“Probably.”

Gary smiled. “Does everyone else look as good as this?”

“Most don’t, but you can filter out the kind of people you’re not into.”

Gary huffed in approval, handing him back the phone. “Technology is a wonder. I’m thinking of dating again. Are there any apps for an old man like me?” Dave nodded. Gary turned his attention back to the television, which showed his team getting a point, but his strangely soft smile remained as his mind ticked with possibilities.

Kei’s ears twitched like a rabbit’s when he heard a familiar tune. He jumped out of his chair and asked Bob to watch his drink.

“Going to the toilet?” Bob asked.

Kei shook his head. “Don’t you know this song? It’s 'Addicted to That Rush’!” Everyone stared at him with a raised eyebrow. “Mr Big! You guys don’t remember Mr Big?”

“I only know 'To Be With You’,” Pete said. “How do you know them?”

Kei began swaying from side to side. “They were huge in Japan! So, anyone wanna dance too?”

Everyone immediately shook their heads.

Kei’s furrowed eyebrows and anger-painted cheeks returned. “Well, fuck you guys.” He turned around, the hem of his jacket leaping higher than ever.

He dashed to the band singing the cover. He began flailing his arms as he stepped from side to side and slowly spun around.

Terrence watched him from a safe distance. Kei’s energy was magnetic, but the magnet of public opinion was stronger.

He heard a rustle and tore his gaze from the dancing man. Bob, Dave and Pete put a ten-dollar bill each in Gary’s hand. Dave grumbled something.

Gary gave a hearty laugh. “Why’d you think it’d take six drinks? It’s never taken him more than four, you moron.” Dave grumbled again.

Everyone at the barrel ordered another drink. Kei came back to the table, swallowed the rest of his beer and got himself another one. Terrence decided to get another Supershine.

“To Fridays!” Kei shouted. Everyone joined the toast. Terrence, in particular, took a huge swig of his beer.

He began to feel a little sleepy but Kei’s smile as he held his drink up energised him in a way unfamiliar to him. Public opinion had already become less potent.

Kei made a joke and Terrence howled with laughter despite all of the other men groaning. “You know, I used to think you were the biggest jackass I ever met,” Terrence admitted; holding his bottle up and pointing at Kei just like Kei did to everyone. “You were always smiling like a madman so I thought you were takin’ the piss.” Kei giggled with a low voice like a child being given a water gun. “But after a while I saw you’re not half bad. I like your dancing, by the way. Te…teach me a move or few… I mean two…”

The others stared at Terrence with open jaws. Keeping his eyes on the wasted man in front of him, Gary handed Bob back his ten dollars. Pete and Dave gave ten dollars to Bob as well.

As Terrence and Kei chatted, they inched closer and closer towards each other. Bob held on tightly to the notes in his hands. Gary chose to watch the television again. Dave and Pete joined him and had a conversation about work.

Terrence asked Kei, “Seriously, why would someone leave you? You’re too fuckin’ awesome. Your ex-wife must be crazy.”

Kei laughed and rubbed his neck before taking a few more gulps of VB. “She loved me but said there was something off about me. Said I should be more confident in the bedroom. Chicks these days are always about confidence.”

“You? Not confident? You must be joking.”

“I’m not. I loved her too and she was incredibly sexy, but I acted like there was some… thing that made me not complete, like there was something I hadn’t figured out. I still don’t know what it is.”

Kei squinted his eyes and studied Terrence’s face. “I thought you reminded me of someone. You look like that bloke I slept with back in Japan!”

All of the patrons at the bar stopped talking and swivelled their heads in Kei’s direction. Kei beamed at the dexterity his own memory.

Gary looked at him with eyes that popped out of their sockets. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking.

“You fucked a bloke?”

Kei answered immediately as if he was having a conversation about the weather. “Yeah. He was a bit thinner than Terry here but he had the same sorta face. What a coincidence!”

Gary blinked, still stuck on one thing. “You fucked a _bloke_?”

Bob sighed in relief and put his money in his wallet. “Why exactly did you do that?” he asked.

Kei tapped his chin as if trying to tap into his memories. “It was his idea. How old was I? 19? He was in a lot of my classes at uni. It was pretty good if I do say so myself. I think he had a crush on me but I never really asked him about it.”

Gary’s jaw tightened. “You _fucked_ a-”

David covered Gary’s mouth. “I think what Gary’s trying to ask here is… are you gay?” Gary pushed David’s hand away.

Kei shook his head like a wet dog. “Nah, I’m not gay. We just had a little fun that night and didn’t talk about it again. We stayed normal friends for the rest of our time at uni. In fact, I kinda forgot about it until now.” He rubbed the back of his head and laughed. “I wonder if he still remembers it. I haven’t called him in a long time. International calls are expensive, you know?”

Gary puffed his cheeks and pushed air out. He raised his hands and then dropped them. “Okay.”

“What was he like?” Terrence asked, leaning in even closer to Kei.

Dave and Pete smiled smugly at Bob, who glared at them with his arms crossed.

Kei tapped his chin again, seemingly unperturbed by the close proximity. “He was pretty eager. Also very experienced. He certainly knew how to use his tongue.” Gary winced. “Like I said, I’m not gay but if a guy like that was in my life I’d certainly try it again- hmph!”

Gary dropped his bottle. It hit the edge of the barrel and fell to the ground, creating a mosaic of broken pieces. He didn’t observe how the pieces created a picture or appreciate how the light above made the slain bottle sparkle. He wasn’t even angry at himself for breaking a perfectly good bottle, something an Aussie bloke like him would easily feel. He wouldn’t have been able to avoid the sight in front of him if someone had ripped out his eyes and thrown them over the Eureka Tower.

Pete, Bob and Dave held their money and froze, waiting for the results. On one of the televisions, a single horse was 20 metres away from the finish line but another horse was catching up.

Reciprocation quickly caught up to Uneven Desire, with Nothing of Consequence straggling behind as a distant number three.

Reciprocation passed Uneven Desire, but could he make it to the finish line first? After a rough start at the barriers, he made an impressive comeback. He was nearly there and the audience could almost taste the victory.

Kei added tongue and Reciprocation crossed the finish line half a metre ahead of Uneven Desire!

Pete and Bob yelled out their frustrations as if their favourite team had just lost a game of footy. They handed some of their money to Dave, whose smile was drenched in a hundred litres of smugness.

“Oh, come on,” Bob pleaded. “They’re drunk so it doesn’t count.”

Gary finally broke out of his self-sustained torture to decipher what the others were doing. “You all knew? How the fuck did you all know?”

Bob shook his head. “I said neither of them is gay. Pete believed that Terrence’s gay but Kei isn’t. Dave said both of them are probably as straight as the sun.”

Kei stopped his French kiss with Terrence just to say, “I’m not gay!” He immediately returned to the kiss.

They kept going at it, moving their hands anywhere and everywhere. A few people in the bar watched with shock.

“Get a room!” One woman shouted. Kei broke from the kiss again, his cheeks burning and his middle finger raised upwards.

Terrence grabbed Kei’s chin and pulled it towards him so that the man was facing him again. “How was I? Anything like him?”

Kei hummed in thought. “You’re not as good as him,” he said with inadvertent bluntness.

Terrence kissed him again with more determination. He began to notice Kei’s smells and tastes, from the sweat mixed with his cheap cologne to the almost metallic bitterness of his fermented breath.

“How about now?”

Kei shook his head. “Better, but not quite to his level. Maybe third time’s a- hmph!”

The kiss continued. Kei slid his hand down Terrence’s body until he reached his crotch. Bob immediately jumped out of his seat and ran to them, grabbing Kei’s arm and pulling it away.

Kei tore his arm from Bob’s grasp. “What’s wrong with you? Let me have a break. It’s Friday, for Christ’s sake!”

“I’m not letting you do something you’ll deeply regret tomorrow. If I did that, I would be sober for no goddamn reason.”

Gary released loud, mocking laughter. “Is he already completely off his face?”

Dave turned his attention towards Pete, whom he noticed was looking away with his arms crossed and rubbing his lips together. The man was blinking frequently. He picked up his bottle and tried to enjoy a few gulps. He threw the now empty bottle onto the barrel and pushed his chair backwards, the deafening squeak causing Dave to cringe. Pete walked to the bar and ordered another drink, but this time he got a Supershine.

He made a ritual out of taking a sip and whispering to himself, a tear occasionally slipping out of his eyes like a criminal escaping their prison cell.

Bob and Kei continued arguing. “You a bigot?” Kei asked in a slur.

“I thought you said you’re not gay,” Bob retorted.

“I’m not but you’re still a bigot. You’re against me doing this. Why can’t I have some fun, ay? Why can’t I have some fuckin’ f-”

“You don’t know what you’re doing.” Bob took a whiff of Kei’s breath. “You’re not having any more drinks.”

Kei picked up the wrong bottle (Terrence’s, to be exact) and took several giant gulps in a startlingly short time. “Make me!”

Bob tried to wrench the bottle from his hand but Kei held onto it as tightly as a drunk man could. Kei tried to punch Bob but he missed him. He tried and failed over and over again. Bob grabbed the man’s arms and held them with the strongest grip he could muster.

A waitress from the restaurant section of the bar walked up to the group with slow, tentative steps.

“We’re going to have to ask you to leave. I’m sorry but you’re disturbing the other customers.”

Kei began a tirade of swearing in Japanese. Bob apologised to the waitress and pulled Kei out of the pub, the other men following them.

Bob asked, “Is everyone here?” with a sigh and the others nodded in affirmative with the exception of Kei. Kei growled, hissing Japanese words at the air.

Terrence tried to speak to him but the usually talkative man stared at him with eyes widened by confusion and an open but silent mouth.

Pete continued murmuring, but Dave was finally able to hear what he was saying. “Everyone’s in fucking relationships.” He noticed a few more tears sliding down Pete’s face.

Gary laughed at the mental state of Kei, who leant against the wall and looked as if he was about to fall onto the ground. Gary swayed a little with each laugh that tumbled out of his mouth.

Dave himself felt a little lightheaded but he still had a bit of control of his basic mental faculties. Bob asked him to look after the others and walked back to his car.

His shoes clicked against the pavement with solitary echoes, sounding completely different from the discordant orchestra of footsteps a few hours ago. He carefully considered what to do given that his car only had five seats. Letting David drive himself home could be a problem no matter how sober he acted. Public intoxication was outlawed and Kei and Terrence would be easy to spot, so he couldn’t leave them. But could he really break the law himself and have two people share one seat?

He slowed his steps as he ran through every possibility. He put the laws he would break or allow to be broken on a scale. Public Intoxication or a seatbelt offence? He sped up as he reached his answer. He entered his car and drove to the bar.

When he arrived, Dave gave him a weak smile. Bob’s eyes furrowed like a general’s. “Terrence and Kei can share a… on second thought, I’ll get you to share with Kei, Dave. Terrence and Gary can sit in the back and Pete can sit in the front. Sound good?”

Dave, Pete and Gary nodded. Pete and Bob worked together to push a squirming Kei into the car. Terrence was a little easier as he didn’t kick or punch, but his weight as he began losing control of his limbs put intense pressure on Pete and Bob’s bent knees.

The drive was silent except for a few sobs from Pete and the occasional whisper of Japanese from Kei. Bob dropped each man to their house except for Terrence, who was unable to clearly communicate his address. He let that man sleep at his house. Terrene fell asleep easily.

The beep of the microwave woke him up. He looked around and saw familiar grey walls. He slowly pulled out his beef stroganoff from the microwave. He sat at the empty table he always sat at, resting his head in his hand as it pumped pain through the area connecting his head and neck. He tried to piece together what had happened.

He vaguely remembered apologising to Bob that morning and thanking him for letting him stay the night. He remembered being kicked out of the bar, but he couldn’t think of why. His tongue began to recollect a few sensations, such as the taste of VB.

“Shit,” he whispered. Was post-intoxication sleepwalking and sleep-apologising a thing? He took a bite of his stroganoff and tried to have it cover the VB like a rug hiding a dead body.

The rest of the day carried the same haze as that morning.

The next day was no different, but he guessed that he was having a Sunday Roast with his family and answering each question directed at him with a generic answer. His mother talked about how she found another woman for him, but he made excuses about how busy he was.

The mist cleared away when he saw Kei Monday morning. He said hello to him and was greeted by a small smile and nothing else. Kei brushed past him with quick steps.

Terrence felt as if his heart, at first churning like a well-oiled machine at the very sight of Kei, had stopped working because of a cold, hard stone being thrown into that machine.

Kei didn’t come to his cubicle to ask about a fax or anything like that. He didn’t even send an email. Was he finally able to get everything done himself?

When the lunch break began, Terrence waved at Kei, who smiled again and looked away. No dimples appeared on his face. Kei chatted with the same girl from Friday.

Gary sat next to Terrence. “Hey, how ya going? Have fun on Friday?” he asked, nudging his elbow onto Terrence’s ribs. “I… I never saw you and thought, 'Well, he’s a poof.’ Do you know how the others guessed?” Terrence’s eyes glued to Kei’s face gave Gary the answer he needed.

Terrence gulped and stood up, leaving his food alone. He made slow steps towards Kei, reassuring himself that whatever he did now would be no worse than kissing him.

He touched his shoulder. “Can I… speak to you?” Kei nodded. “Can we talk outside?” Kei nodded again.

The air outside was a tad cold, the breeze giving both men a shiver. The streets were mostly empty, with the nearest person well past hearing distance.

“Are… I’m sorry for asking such a weird question, but… are you avoiding me?”

Kei looked around the area for a way to answer. “I… it’s not like I’m trying to avoid you.” He blew some air out, assaulting Terrence with the stench of peppermint. He leant against the wall. “I just see your face and… I can’t help but remember what happened Friday night. Vividly, in fact.” Terrence began to resent the peppermint. “Well, until we were kicked out of the bar. I can’t remember a thing after that.”

Terrence looked at the ground. “I would suggest we forget it happened, but…” He took a deep breath and lifted his head until his eyes met with Kei’s. “To be honest with you, I don’t want to forget.”

Kei immediately looked away. “Is that how it is?” Terrence grunted his yes. Kei frowned, rubbing his face. “So you’re going to remember every stupid thing I said that night for the rest of your life? Do you know what happened the next day? I woke up late so I had to hurry to pick up Lisa and when I saw Jane, I… I could barely talk to her because I didn’t want what was happened slip out of my mouth. Her eyes were interrogating me like they always do, but this time there was something she might have spotted!”

“You’re divorced, so… would it make that much of a difference if you told her you’re ga-”

“I’m not gay!” The woman getting into a car in the distance heard Kei’s shout as it played over again in the air like a song on repeat. She entered the car more quickly and drove off. “I like women.”

“Are you… bisexual?”

Kei’s cheeks reached the colour of the Australia Post box. “That… let’s not make this any more complicated than it needs to be. And that’s missing the point. I managed to forget that incident with Ayumu and after Friday night I can’t stop thinking about it. I hate looking at you right now because then every godawful memory comes back up like fucking vomit. How much do you remember?”

“I remember the gist of it.”

“I remember every excruciating detail!” Kei sighed. “I’m sorry for yelling. I don’t… I’m really sorry, but I’d prefer it if we didn’t, you know, talk or hang out… just for a little while. I need to forget about this. It would probably be best if you forgot about it too.”

Terrence nodded and walked into the building with laboured steps. He spent the rest of his lunch break eating with his head down, ignoring Gary’s chatter about the footy. He saw out the corner of his eye that Kei was laughing and talking with another woman.

When he finished his meal he chucked the plastic container in the bin and headed back his own little cubicle, his shoulders low as he tried to do what Kei suggested.

What he didn’t realise was that Kei was staring at him as he walked away, his eyes taking a swig of his features like a nice cold beer.


End file.
